After the governing and opposition camps have for the past decade been negotiating amendments to the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (菸害防制法), the Cabinet on Jan. 13 finalized draft amendments.
Preventing tobacco hazards is one of the WHO’s priorities, and Taiwan cannot afford to lag behind on this issue if it wants to join the organization. The WHO said that 8 million people worldwide die from smoking each year. Smoking is said to be preventable, and quitting smoking is health-enhancing.
By contrast, fewer than 4 million people died from COVID-19 in the first two years of the pandemic. Yet fear of the
Frontline health workers need voice, alliance says
By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
Frontline healthcare workers should be on the National Health Insurance Committee, the Taiwan Medical Alliance for Labor Justice and Patient Safety said yesterday, urging the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) to include them.
The fifth list of committee members was released on Friday last week, consisting of 39 members from four groups: representatives of “the insured,” “healthcare service providers,” “government officials” and “specialists and trusted third parties.”
Alliance director-general Lin Ping-hung (林秉鴻) said that although half of the committee members are new to the list, it continued to exclude healthcare workers, so decisions are made by a “tripartite agreement” of the government, healthcare facility management and people who have National Health Insurance coverage.